The Enchiridion journal: 9 prompts and exercises
by Epictetus · 9 morning and evening prompts · a 7-day plan · print it or save it as a PDF
The Enchiridion is a handbook of short Stoic rules from Epictetus, made to be kept close and used in the moment. This journal turns its nine key ideas into a morning prompt, an evening prompt and one thing to try today, with a 7-day plan to start.
How to use this journal
- MorningRead one idea and answer its morning prompt before the day starts. Two or three lines are enough.
- EveningBefore bed, answer the evening prompt: what happened, what you did, and what you will do next time.
- Try todayOne small exercise that puts the idea to work during the day.
A 7-day plan
Separate your choices from everything else
Before each worry today, ask: is this up to me? If not, set it down for now.
Day 2Question the judgment behind your distress
When you feel a jolt of anger or fear today, count to five and say: 'It is my view of this that troubles me.'
Day 3Bring your questions into daily life
When a delay, an insult or a loss arrives today, ask the three questions before you act.
Day 4Consider the price before feeling envy
When you feel envy today, write down the price the other person paid and whether you would pay it.
Day 5Love without claiming permanent possession
Tell one person you love what you value in them.
Day 6Commit thoughtfully and practise without display
Do one good thing today without telling anyone about it.
Day 7Apply principles while keeping your duties
Choose one duty you have been avoiding, a call, a visit or a reply, and do it today.
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9 ideas, each with prompts
1. Keep practical rules close at hand
The Enchiridion's name means something held in the hand, like a small dagger. Its rules are meant for the moment your temper rises or your plans fall apart, not for the bookshelf.
- Morning
- Which one rule do I want ready in my pocket today?
- Evening
- When did I need a rule today, and did I remember it in time?
- Try today
- Write one short rule on a card or your phone's lock screen and read it three times today.
2. Separate your choices from everything else
Your opinions, intentions, desires and aversions are yours. Your body, possessions, reputation and position are not fully yours to command, and mixing the two makes your peace depend on things that can fail you.
- Morning
- What do I want today that depends on other people or on luck?
- Evening
- Where did I spend effort today on something that was never mine to control?
- Try today
- Before each worry today, ask: is this up to me? If not, set it down for now.
3. Question the judgment behind your distress
An event and your view of it are not the same thing. An insult hurts once you decide that it has injured you; pause before you react and the first impression loses its grip.
- Morning
- What reaction do I want to slow down today?
- Evening
- What upset me today, and what judgment did I make about it?
- Try today
- When you feel a jolt of anger or fear today, count to five and say: 'It is my view of this that troubles me.'
4. Love without claiming permanent possession
Epictetus starts with a cup: remember that it can break. He asks the same honesty about the people we love, who are given to us for a time, like a room at an inn.
- Morning
- Whom do I love that I may be taking for granted?
- Evening
- Did I treat someone today as if they would always be there?
- Try today
- Tell one person you love what you value in them.
5. Play your part with a willing mind
Life hands you a role you did not fully choose. Your task is to play it well, and to ask what ability you have to meet each event.
- Morning
- What role do I play today, at work and at home, and what would playing it well look like?
- Evening
- Where did I resist my part today instead of doing it well?
- Try today
- Pick one dull duty today and do it as well as you can.
6. Consider the price before feeling envy
If someone bought lettuces and you kept your coin, you each have something. Others may win praise or invitations by paying a price you refused, and you kept your freedom.
- Morning
- Whose life or success am I tempted to envy today?
- Evening
- What price did that person pay that I chose not to pay?
- Try today
- When you feel envy today, write down the price the other person paid and whether you would pay it.
7. Commit thoughtfully and practise without display
Before you begin something, look at what it requires and where it leads. Once committed, let the results show in your conduct, not in your talk.
- Morning
- What am I starting or continuing, and do I accept what it will cost?
- Evening
- Did I talk about my principles today more than I lived them?
- Try today
- Do one good thing today without telling anyone about it.
8. Apply principles while keeping your duties
Knowing why lying is wrong matters less than refusing to lie. Inner calm is no excuse to neglect the duties you owe family, friends and community.
- Morning
- Which principle will I actually practise today, not just agree with?
- Evening
- Which duty did I keep today, and which did I let slide?
- Try today
- Choose one duty you have been avoiding, a call, a visit or a reply, and do it today.
9. Bring your questions into daily life
Epictetus leaves you three questions for any trouble: Is this mine to control? What view am I taking of it? What ability do I have to meet it?
- Morning
- Which situation today will need these three questions?
- Evening
- Pick one moment from today and answer all three questions about it.
- Try today
- When a delay, an insult or a loss arrives today, ask the three questions before you act.
Free for 3 months
Read and hear the whole of The Enchiridion, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
More journals and guides: Stoic journal prompts · Gratitude journal: 9 prompts and exercises · Summary of The Enchiridion · Meditations journal · The Teaching of Epictetus journal · The Golden Sayings of Epictetus journal · On Benefits journal · All study guides
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